It all starts in The Basement. It always does.
The Basement is an NSA base, surreptitiously placed underneath a storage warehouse in the middle of God Knows Fucking Where; Lexa Wilde and her team have been using it as their base since they first formed. They gather in front of the projected monitor in the conference room, waiting for their next assignment.
They've just finished combatting a team of bombers in Prague, but they're not too tired for a fresh mission - they never are.
The screen goes blank for a moment, and soon enough, Gustus Terram appears on the screen. He's dressed in his general uniform decorated with badges, sitting at his usual spot, in his office. "Good evening, team. And a job well done in Prague."
Lexa nods in acknowledgement. "Thank you, General."
Anya and Indra murmur their thanks from behind her.
General Terram doesn't miss another beat. Always straight to the point. "Now, as you may be aware, there was an attack placed on Director Jaha last week. He survived, but he's in critical condition."
Another nod from Lexa. Thelonious Jaha is the director of the NSA, responsible for the construction of The Intersect Program. The man is brilliant. Terrifying, ruthless, but brilliant.
(All that Lexa aspires to be.)
"Our top suspect for the assailant is Bellamy Blake." The general's screen is replaced by a photo of a rather scruffy-looking black-haired man. "Age twenty-one."
"Motive?"
"Unknown. But it's believed that he is one of the most prominent figures of an anti-CIA organization - set out to dismantle the agency."
Indra scoffs from behind Lexa. "Him and what army?"
"The size is unknown. This is what your mission will be." The general's face appears on screen again, the second projector activating itself. It shows a number of surveillance-type photographs. "The reason we have not arrested Blake yet is an amalgamation of a lack of proof, and a well-constructed cover life."
"Cover life?" Lexa tilts her head to the left.
"He's a college student - goes to Berkeley, along with many of the suspected members on his team. Ironically enough, he's a criminology major. From what we've seen, the main team seems to consist of the following." The second screen flashes to a photo of a dark-haired girl, who bears a striking resemblance to Blake. "Octavia Blake, his younger sister. She's just started her first year at the college." A photo of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl. "Clarke Griffin - either his right-hand, or the leader of the team, itself. That's unclear. Biochemistry major. Presumably going to med school." A photo of a darker brunette girl. "Raven Reyes. Engineering major. Top engineering student in her year." A photo of yet another shaggy-haired brunette boy. "And Finn Collins. As for him, we are unsure of whether he's actually on the team or not - surveillance shows that he was almost always with Reyes or Griffin, but he is no longer a problem."
"Dead?"
"Yes. This team was allegedly involved in a shoot-out where seven of our agents were killed, and Collins was killed, too - but they managed to come up with alibi, for that. They immediately made their way over to a fraternity party at Berkeley, saying that they'd been there the entire time. It was perfect - drunk college kids wouldn't be able to remember when they'd come, or gone. We couldn't get them for it, as the only agents that would have seen them were dead."
"And Griffin..." Lexa furrows her brow, going through the archives of her (computerized) brain, the name ringing a bell. "Any relation to Jacob Griffin?"
"His daughter."
Lexa narrows her eyes. Jacob Griffin was once one of the top combative agents of the NSA. She wasn't involved in this, but the NSA eliminated him after he became a threat to their agency when he went rogue. "There's your proof, right there," she says, gesturing to the second screen. "Clarke Griffin, angsty college student, takes out the anger from her father's death by attempting to dismantle the very agency responsible for it. Of course they're responsible for Jaha's assassination attempt."
"Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing. That's how good their college cover is - to the untrained eye, they're simply college students with clean records, apart from the occasional speeding ticket, possession of marijuana, public intoxication. Low-lying, well-educated contributions to our society."
Lexa raises an eyebrow, waiting to hear where she comes in to all of this.
"I want you, Agent Wilde, to go to Berkeley, pose as a student there, befriend Bellamy Blake, and gather all the information that you possibly can from him. Once you have their motives, a confirmation that he, indeed, was the assailant, and the rest of his team members, you eliminate him, and we send in agents to arrest his team."
"Wh - all due respect, sir, that might take months." Lexa is never one to disobey orders, but she's never been on an LTM before. Long Term Missions are infamous amongst NSA agents, some of them lasting up to five years before the case is either solved, or an agent is killed. "Can't we just take him and interrogate him?"
"We could, but that would do nothing for us, long-term wise." The general's voice is firm. "He has a team, likely ready to step up if he is captured, or killed. It's better for us to get every smidgen of information we can, every detail about his life, and then erase his organization. Every small, seemingly-insignificant piece of it."
Lexa nods begrudgingly. "What about Anya and Indra?"
"You two will provide backup for Wilde," The general says. "Gather information when you can. Surveil the premises. Make sure the situation doesn't go awry. They will go on other, smaller missions while you focus on this one."
"Thank the fucking lord," Anya breathes - quiet enough so that the general can't hear, loud enough for Lexa to fully understand. She curls her lip in distaste. This is not missed by the general.
"Agent Wilde, I could easily assign this case to another agent -"
"No, general," Lexa says hastily, flashing a glare towards her fellow agent. "I can take this on."
"Good. Because I actually cannot easily assign this case to another agent. You are the youngest agent of your ranking in the NSA, Wilde, and the most skilled in all of the NSA. Twenty-one years old with the equivalent of a super-computer in your brain. All thanks to The Intersect." The general says this and Lexa holds back the urge to roll her eyes. She's gotten this speech one too many times, now, and she hates it - the general acting as if she was completely untrained, unskilled, incompetent before The Intersect. It's demeaning, and belittling, and she hates it. "You may not like it, but your brain chemistry was the most -"
"Compatible with The Intersect. I know, sir. I know."
"Your age will have you will easily pass as a college student. We have placed you in as a biochemistry student -"
"Biochemistry? Isn't that Griffin's major? Why not place me in the Criminology program?"
"We have decided it would be less suspicious, less forward, if you befriended Griffin before Blake. And Wilde," the general glares at Lexa (about as well as one can glare at another through a screen). "Stop interrupting me."
"My apologies, sir," Lexa mutters.
"You're enrolled in five courses, although I'm sure none will be difficult for you, as you have The Intersect. Three out of those five courses are with Griffin. Two of them, your elective courses, are with Blake. One of those elective courses are shared with Blake and Griffin. We have also purchased an apartment on campus as your living space. It isn't quite as large as your current living space, but an ostentatious apartment would be far too suspicious. Griffin's apartment is next to your new one. Be grateful that we haven't placed you in the residency program."
Lexa nods stiffly. Nothing about this assignment seems nice. Nothing.
"And, Wilde?"
"Yes, general?"
"You're going to have to get that stick out of your ass if you want to be perceived as a regular college student."
A pause. Anya lets out a snort from behind her. Lexa nods.
"Yes, general."
"Dismissed." Both screens go blank. Lexa turns to face Anya and Indra, ignoring the fact that she's just been humiliated by their general in front of her team.
"Get me as much information on both Blake and Griffin's interests as you possibly can," she says. "I'm going to go home and start packing."
Indra glowers at Lexa. "First we are told to take orders from a twenty-one-year old rookie," she grumbles. "Now are are being told to take orders from a twenty-one-year old college student."
Anya chuckles, and Lexa simply glares at the two of them. Indra walks away, muttering about being ordered around by children I did not go through all of that training for a college mission.
"Yeah, we'll do it, Lexa." Anya places a hand on Lexa's shoulder. "And...don't let Gustus or Indra get to you. I recruited you to the NSA, before you got The Intersect, for a reason. You're resilient. You'll finish this mission faster than any other agent can."
Lexa gives Anya another stiff nod, and shrugs out of her grasp, turning away from her to fiddle aimlessly with folders on the table. She can feel Anya's gaze boring into her back.
"You're going to have to move on, eventually, Lexa. It's been a long time." Anya's voice is uncharacteristically gentle. "It's what she would have wanted."
She. Flashes of bloody hands, a gunshot wound, last words ring through Lexa's head, and she has to physically shake her head to get it out.
"I've moved on." Lexa sets the folders down, turning to face Anya. "Stop treating me like a child."
Anya stares sadly at Lexa for a moment, then she's back to being one of the regular, stoic agents that the NSA has always bred. "Alright. I'll text you when we have all of the information. Good luck with packing."
Lexa nods, and without another word, Anya is out the door.
A flash. A scream of pain. Lexa isn't sure whose mouth it comes out of - hers or Costia's - as she watches Costia fall to her knees, then on her stomach. Lexa races towards her, holstering her gun.
"Costia, Costia, God, please, no, please -"
"Step aside, Agent Wilde."
"You don't understand. She's one of us. There must be an explanation for all of this." Lexa turns Costia over, cradling her head in her lap and furiously blinking away at tears as she glowers at the shooter. "You didn't have to shoot."
"Step aside, now, rookie." Agent Indra Strong points her gun at Lexa. "She is a traitor. She has proven herself to be one. Step. Aside."
Lexa ignores her, turning back to her love, all bloodied and staring up at the sky with tears in her eyes. "Costia, stay with me." Lexa's voice shudders, breaks with every syllable. Costia turns her gaze to Lexa.
"Don't do it," she manages to gasp. "Don't let them."
"I won't let her kill you. Keep your eyes open."
"No." Costia raises a shaky hand, places it on Lexa's cheek. "Intersect. Don't let them."
"What is an Intersect?" Lexa says desperately. "What is that, Costia?"
Indra cocks her gun from behind them. "Ten seconds, Wilde."
"Dangerous..." Costia's voice grows quieter, her gaze more unfocused.
"Ten."
"Costia, it's okay."
"Nine."
"We can talk about it later, baby. It's okay. Save your strength."
"Eight."
"Use you...as a guinea pig..."
"Seven."
"What did you say? Costia, I can't hear you."
"Six."
A bloodied gasp.
"Five."
"My...love..."
Tears fall freely down Lexa's cheeks. "Please."
"Four."
"May...we -"
"Don't say it."
"May we...meet again."
"Three."
Costia's eyes close. Her body shudders with her last breath. Indra didn't even have to shoot her gun.
"Costia!" Lexa starts shaking her body. "Costia, no. Costia, come back."
Indra realizes what's happened and begins to tug at Lexa. "Dead? Good. We must clear the premises, now," she commands. "Do it now."
"Lexa." Another voice sounds from behind. Lexa turns, recognizing it - it's Anya.
"Anya." Seeing the sight of a familiar face breaks her even further. "Costia - we have to get her to a hospital -"
Anya moves to crouch next to Lexa. "I'm sorry, Lexa," she says gently, placing a hand on Lexa's back. "She's gone. We have to go. We don't know who else she was with -"
"It's Costia." Lexa lets out another sob. "Costia. She's not a traitor. She can't be."
"Come on." Anya gently places her hands underneath Lexa's arms, hoisting her up. Lexa has never felt more like a child, but she allows herself to be lifted, steadied, and takes a look at her lover's lifeless body once more.
And then she turns her back on Costia for the last time.
